Oh, Christine I am so very sorry. That doesn't seem like enough. I can't even believe it.

I am thinking of you both

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
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"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07

Christine I am only just reading this.and I cannot even say how very sorry I am. Sepp is young and strong and in capable hands so I will send every prayer and positive thought I have for a miraculous outcome.

I'm truly embarrassed that I missed this post. Christine, I can't tell you how many times I've thought of you outside of this forum over the years. If I lived anywhere near you I would drive down there and give you a big hug and try to help you through all of this as much as I possibly could.

You are one of the most caring and loving people I've met on this forum and reading all of this really hits me hard. I'm so sorry...

cheekymunkee wrote:As much as I hate to, I am going to move this thread to the proper section. I am sorry Christine.

Blech... I was hoping, if I ignored it long enough, it's gonna go away...

Anyway... the plan is to start Sepp on chemo next week and, hopefully, put him into remission. Once that happens he might be a candidate for a bone marrow transplant... luckily, we are only two hours away from the only veterinary teaching hospital that performs this procedure at this time. There is a waiting list, so Sepps oncologist is gathering as much info as possible about the whole process, but the good news is - the vet in charge is owned by a Pit Bull himself, so I'm cautiously optimistic that Sepp has a good chance of being seen/treated there.

I'm sick over this whole thing... but Seppel seems to feel much better, now that the meds have finally kicked in, and he seems to be under the impression that cab rides and vet visits are just one big ole party in his honor. I gotta laugh when I see how *enthusiastic* he greets & meets everyone... at the oncologist he was wagging his tail so hard while they were taking his blood that the needle popped out of his leg twice.And it makes for an interesting exam to have a dog who - literally - folds himself in half every time someone touches him, and who has chronic "happy butt", or throws himself on his back to have his belly scratched. Oh, the exitment it causes him to have all those strangers poke and prod, and pay attention to him... On his bottle of ace the label reads: "Give 1 or 2 tablets every 8 - 12 hours as needed for sedation. May cause drowsiness. HOPEFULLY."

pitbullmamaliz wrote:Christine, will they use Sepp's bone marrow, or is there some way we can have our dogs tested to see if they can donate some for him?

The way I understand it, it all depends on his "numbers", but they prefer to use the dogs own marrow unless an exact match can be found (which would be parents and/or litter mates)... the whole thing is absolutely mind boggling in the first place, but as I learn about the procedure I will let you guys know how it works exactly...

amazincc wrote:I'm sick over this whole thing... but Seppel seems to feel much better, now that the meds have finally kicked in, and he seems to be under the impression that cab rides and vet visits are just one big ole party in his honor. I gotta laugh when I see how *enthusiastic* he greets & meets everyone... at the oncologist he was wagging his tail so hard while they were taking his blood that the needle popped out of his leg twice.And it makes for an interesting exam to have a dog who - literally - folds himself in half every time someone touches him, and who has chronic "happy butt", or throws himself on his back to have his belly scratched. Oh, the exitment it causes him to have all those strangers poke and prod, and pay attention to him...

Welcome to Trouble's world. She greets each of them with a wiggle butt and happy tail. She loves the attention, and only now, all these months later is reluctant to go with a tech to the back without me. Dr F told me once she is the greatest dog ever, while he was prepping her for chemo, she would reach over and lick his hand.

You, more than anyone, knows what a blessing it is for them to love the attention. I am thankful you won't have to deal with the stress of him hating the vet.

I have been thinking about you and Sepp a lot Christine. You have a lot of support, and a lot of love coming your way.

I have always admired dogs' ability to live in the moment...and I know Sepp is no different. You have given him such a great home. He is happy, and will continue to play...and that is what matters most.

~Brittany, Degan and Harlow's mom

"It is true that Pit Bulls grab and hold on. But what they most often grab and refuse to let go of is your heart, not your arm."

Glad to hear that he's enjoying all of the attention...at least he doesn't know what's going on...I find that such a good thing at least. Love the label on his bottle...that gave me a snort of laughter though my tears.

Please let me know if I can do anything to help...the dogs, John and I can do a road trip down there if you need anything...bone marrow, blood donations, moral support...

"I don't have any idea if my dogs respect me or not, but they're greedy and I have their stuff." -- Patty Ruzzo

"Dogs don't want to control people. They want to control their own lives." --John Bradshaw

Thanks, everyone... I appreciate all the kind words and the unending support... I truly do.

I have found myself trying to avoid posting in my own thread, strangely enough... while I was all over the place when Mick got sick... And it's not that I love Sepp any less - but maybe I'm having a harder time because he is SO young. Not even two yet... even though I found some links on-line where the youngest dog on record to be diagnosed w/lymphoma was a three week old puppy (who didn't live)...

Anyway - Sepp is oblivious to the whole drama, and I'm very grateful for that. He's a little more clingy lately and I've started to call him Velcro, but that's about the only real change I've seen over the past few days. He eats, plays, and is being his goofy happy self otherwise... and, thankfully, we have none of the challenges w/"strangers" that Mick faced during his treatment.I am worried about the prednisone he was on for his jaw for a few months, because I know that it could become a problem when he does chemo, but his Oncologist thinks he has been off it long enough where it shouldn't become an issue. Fingers crossed that she's right... *sigh*

Christine - I think I understand your hesitancy to post. We all want to be positive and optimistic when posting in this section, but it must be pretty difficult to muster optimism when you're doing this yet again. You know the steps of this journey now and it may be harder for you to lift your feet to take those steps, but know that we are all here to carry you if/whenever you need us.

Sepp will come through this with flying colors! He has to because we've had too much sadness and now we need to rejoice again. Fight the fight Sepp, you can beat this thing!

I'm glad Seppel is so happy about going to the vet. This will make the whole experience better for you all. Vinny always enjoyed our trips to the vet (which made it so much easier) until close to the end, and then he still loved the attention!